1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to identification tags for use on luggage and the like, and more particularly, to identification tags which are rigid or semi-rigid in nature, and facilitate viewing of an indicia-carrying sheet or plate through transparent superimposed plates or elements.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
A number of types and designs of identification tags suitable for attachment to luggage and the like have heretofore been devised. Such tags must meet several criteria in order to enjoy the widest acceptance by luggage owners. First, the tags preferably are of a permanent or semipermanent nature in the sense of being rugged and sufficiently resistant to crumpling or abrasion that the tags can withstand the rigors of careless handling of the luggage which is frequently experienced during transit. Further, identification tags are preferably aesthetic in character, and do not present an unsightly appendage to the luggage. Since luggage is often selected largely on the basis of its aesthetic quality, it is important that the identification tag complement the luggage, and be smart and neat in appearance.
Another desideratum in luggage identification tags is the capability of quickly placing certain identifying and descriptive indicia on the tag, and of altering or replacing such indicia quickly and easily at any time that it is desirable to do so. For example, where the owner's address is changed, or where the luggage is given as a gift to a person who may wish to place indicia of his or her choice on the identification tag, it is important that the placement of the identifying indicia or marks on the tag can be accomplished quickly, without special tools, and in such manner that the marks conveying the desired information to a viewer can be erased or at least quickly changed in the event different information becomes appropriate to include on the tag.
A number of types of identification tags have heretofore been proposed and used with varying degrees of success for the purpose of affixation to luggage, and conveyance of meaningful information to an observer.
One type of identification tag which has previously been proposed is that which is shown in Duskin U.S. Pat. No. 2,540,718. In the Duskin patent, the tag described is a composite structure which includes a recessed plate or panel constructed of a synthetic resin material, a second plate or panel which may be pivotally connected or secured by a rivet or the like to the first panel, and a pocket or recess formed in one or the other of the two panels for the purpose of receiving small indicia-carrying blocks or tabs, such as tabs upon which the owner's initials are inscribed. When the first and second panels are moved into a superimposed or overlying position, they may be retained in this position to hold the indicia-carrying tabs between the two panels and in the described recess by means of a suitable strap or chain extended through aligned holes in the panels. In order to change or alter the indicia or information-conveying element in the Duskin identification tag, it is necessary to remove and replace the tabs carrying the indicia and located in the recess, substituting new indicia-carrying tabs for those previously in use.
A generally similar type of structure is provided in the form of a combined key chain and locket as shown in Arnold U.S. Pat. No. 760,410. Here, a cover plate or panel of generally elliptical configuration is retained over a similarly shaped recessed panel which functions to receive in the recess some type of indicia-carrying card which will function to identify the owner of the keys carried on a key chain attached to the superimposed panels or plates. The key chain links can be extended through a hollow rivet used to join the two plates to each other.
In Kocsi U.S. Pat. No. 2,720,777, a structure is provided in which a pair of superimposed clear or transparent plastic plates 16 and 18 sandwich between them an indicia-bearing card or element, with such indicia being visible through the plastic plates at the opposite sides of the superimposed plastic elements.
Other luggage identification tag structures are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,556,825 (which depicts and describes an essentially laminated tag structure); U.S. Pat. No. 2,655,747; U.S. Pat. No. 2,176,253, and U.S. Pat. No. 944,744. One of the aspects of all of these identification structures which renders the use of such devices less than optimum is the inability to very rapidly and quickly place any desired indicia in a protected location within the structure where it can be easily viewed from multiple angles by an observer remote from the structure, and then to just as quickly and easily alter such indicia at any time and for whatever reason the owner of the identification tag may wish to do so.